What to do with leftover pancakes: Lunchtime wraps, pancake bread pudding and more

So, you’ve been having plenty of pancake fun; whisking, flipping and munching away on your pancakes all evening but you just can’t fit anymore in… Usually, you might scoop your cooked pancakes or raw batter straight into the bin and shut the lid, but don’t even think about it this year.

We’re going to show you how you can make the most of your pancakes this Pancake Day so there will be no need to waste a drop.

Turn your pancakes into tomorrow’s breakfast, lunch, dinner or even dessert. The possibilities are endless…

What to make with leftover pancakes

Turn them into tomorrow’s breakfast

Turn your leftover pancakes into a classic breakfast treat – French toast! It’s simple really; just make them as you would French toast. Dip your cooked pancakes into the egg, sugar and cinnamon mix and pop on a pan and cook until golden and delicious. Serve with fresh berries.

Turn them into tomorrow’s lunch

Pancakes make a great alternative to tortilla wraps. Grab a crepe-style pancake and load up with your favourite sandwich fillings – bacon, lettuce and tomato, burrito-style with beans, the choice is yours! Wrap in tin foil or cling film and pop into the fridge ready for your packed lunch the next day.

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Turn them into tomorrow’s dinner

Quesadillas or enchiladas are really easy to make with pancakes. You might always associate pancakes as a sweet dish rather than savoury but a sprinkling of cheese, a scoop of tomato sauce and plenty of veggies make one delicious dinner.

Turn them into tomorrow’s dessert

Transform your pancakes into different desserts. Our two favourites have to be pancake bread pudding and pancake trifle. For the bread pudding, tear or cut up the pancakes into smallish pieces. We’d recommend using thicker pancakes for this dessert. Pour over your custard mix and top with raisins or chocolate chips. Bake in the oven on a low heat for about 30 mins.

For the pancake trifle, now that’s a little easier! All you have to do is replace the sponge fingers or Swiss roll in the base of your favourite trifle recipe with pancakes instead. Leave smaller pancakes as they are but tear the bigger pancakes up to fill the base of the trifle. Delicious!

Turn them into this week’s baking challenge

If you’re up for a baking challenge this week, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get creative with pancakes. S’mores and a pancake cake or crepe cake are first on the list. Don’t they both sound so tempting?

Pancake S’mores are made pretty much like you would make classic S’mores except you’re replacing the biscuits part with pancakes instead! The pancake cake is a little trickier, but we’ll leave our cake expert Victoria Threader to show you how to make your own.

What to make with leftover pancake batter

There’s really no need to bin your leftover pancake batter especially as you can make so much with it. How about whipping up a batch of Yorkshire puddings using your pancake mix? They’re pretty much the same recipe – you just need a little oil for cooking!

Use your freezer!

If you’re sick and tired of pancakes altogether, your trusty freezer will be your knight in shining armour. You can pop leftover pancake batter and even cooked pancakes into your freezer and store them for another time.

How to store and reheat your pancakes:

For cooked pancakes, leave them to cool before freezing. Once cooled, pop a few into a sandwich bag – depending on how many you’d want in one sitting or how many members of your family would want some when it comes to reheating. Store in an airtight container or Tupperware for up to 1 month.

To reheat, take the pancakes out of the sandwich bag – they might be stuck together so leave them to sit on the kitchen side for a while before carefully peeling them apart with a knife. Reheat in the toaster or in the microwave on a low heat.

How to store and reheat your pancake batter:

When it comes to storing your leftover pancake batter, we’d recommend portioning your batter out. If you don’t think you’re going to use all the leftover mix in one go, separate it into a few sandwich bags.

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Tie and store these in an airtight container or Tupperware. Make sure you label them up so you know what they are. You could also store your leftover pancake batter in an ice cream tray – one ice cube will make a mini pancake.

To defrost, your pancake batter, leave it in the fridge overnight or in a bowl of warm water on the kitchen side. Once the mixture has defrosted, cut off the corner of your sandwich bag and carefully pipe your pancake batter into a preheated frying pan and cook!